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Freetrader
Freetrader A Freetrader (FT) is a character class which class defining skills lie in trading and sailing. As such Freetraders are not the best combat class. Starting out as Freetrader Freetraders start with the standard Halifax schooner like everyone else. They have access to the same missions like as a Naval Officer or Privateer. By default Freetraders start as Florentine melee fighters. That is they fight with rapier and main gauche (left hand off dagger). Levelling as a Freetrader As said above Freetraders are not the best combat-oriented class. They have access to essentials like damage reduction (Defender 1 and 2) but miss repair skills like the Naval Officer or Privateer class. As such having adequate number of hull patches is a must to level fast. The best missions for Freetraders are the swashbuckling missions. The first two skills should be Pistol Shot and Balance Restoration. As firing a pistol costs very much balance restoring it before entering a melee fight is essential. With the right amount of bandages any swashbuckling mission up to 8 levels higher is possible as a Freetrader and thus generates good XP. For the first 25 levels concentrate on your fighting progress. At around level 20 get the Travel skill from Unknown tree to boost your travel speed on the open sea as long travels will become your constant companion. In addition you can travel to a port with a General Trainer to gain the two General Skills Diplomacy and Crew Focus:Gunnery. Especially the later is a boon to fighting as it directly affects your reload rate to even the odds against other players and NPCs in gunnery duels. So what the heck are Freetraders good at? For once sailing in the Open Sea. A Freetrader in a slow ship is often as fast as a Naval Officer, Privateer or Pirate in a faster ship. Sure, there are limits how fast a fully laden big cargo ship can be pushed but it's not unheard for Freetraders in small ships to make over 100 knots with the right wind, their travel speed buff and an ocean current. Second trading. Freetraders can choose to gain advances in the Trade section of their skill tree and thus gain access to advanced production options, talking in the Trade Chat (they listen for free) and search from any Auction House across the Caribbean. This is very powerful as it means they can direct their travels much more efficiently (and this faster) than their nation counterparts. For this skill alone most players intend to make a Freetrader Alternative character to save time searching for goods. And then finally access to Advanced Structures and Advanced Ship Components. This means only Freetraders are able to set up production of large, huge and colossal ships So what about PvP? High level Freetraders will be able to choose from multiple group buffs. Five of them last for 30 minutes each and whereas the buffs from the Naval Officer are on short times this can give a group a small advantage. Freetraders gain in addition access to one of the most powerful ship - the San Mateo Galleon. That is if the enemy makes the mistake to come from behind. The San Mateo Galleon has a stern armament that puts most small and medium ships broadsides as an afterthought. Granted, Freetraders will never be as effective in combat as their nation counterparts but they can boost their group and have access to some powerful ships which are unfortunately a bit on the sluggish side concerning acceleration and manoeuvering.